Full Description
Bertha Wilson's appointment as the first female justice of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1982 capped off a career of firsts. Wilson had been the first woman lawyer and partner at a prominent Toronto law firm and the first woman appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Her death in 2007 provoked reflection on her contributions to the Canadian legal landscape and raised the question, what difference do women judges make?
Justice Bertha Wilson examines Wilson's career through three distinct frames and a wide range of feminist perspectives. The authors evince Wilson's contributions to the legal system in "Foundations," examine her role in high-profile decisions in "Controversy," and assess her credentials as a feminist judge and her impact on education and the profession in "Reflections."
This nuanced portrait of a complex, controversial woman will appeal to lawyers, judges, policy makers, academics, and anyone interested in law and women's contributions to Canadian society.
Contents
Preface / Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé
Introduction / Kim Brooks
Part 1: Foundations
1 Bertha Wilson's Practice Years (1958-75): Establishing a Research Practice and Founding a Research Department in Canada / Angela Fernandez and Beatrice Tice
2 A Traditionalist's Property Jurisprudence/ Larissa Katz
3 Power, Discretion, and Vulnerability, Justice Wilson and Fiduciary Duty in the Corporate/Commercial Context / Janis Sarra
4 A Few More Spokes to the Wheel: Reasonableness, Fairness, and Justice in Justice Bertha Wilson's Approach to Contract Law / Moira L. McConnell
5 Giving Emotions Their Due: Justice Bertha Wilson's Response to Intangible Loss in Contract / Shannon Kathleen O'Byrne
Part 2: Controversy
6 Picking up Where Justice Wilson Left Off: The Tort of Discrimination Revisited / Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey
7 Paradigms of Prostitution: Revisiting the Prostitution Reference / Janine Benedet
8 Contextualizing Criminal Defences: Exploring the Contribution of Justice Bertha Wilson / Isabel Grant and Debra Parkes
9 "Finally I know Where I am Going to Be From": Culture, Context, and Time in a Look Back at Racine v. Woods / Gillian Calder
10 Challenging Patriarchy or Embracing Liberal Norms? Justice Wilson's Child Custody and Access Decisions / Susan B. Boyd
Part 3: Reflections
11 But Was She a Feminist Judge? / Beverley Baines
12 I Agree/Disagree for the Following Reasons: Convergence, Divergence, and Justice Wilson's "Modest Degree of Creativity" / Marie-Claire Belleau, Rebecca Johnson, and Christina Vinters
13 A Way of Being in the World / Lorna Turnbull
14 Ideas and Transformation: A Reflection on Bertha Wilson's Contribution to Gender Equality in the Legal Profession / Melina Buckley
15 Taking a Stand on Equality: Bertha Wilson and the Evolution of Judicial Education in Canada / Rosemary Cairns Way and T. Brettel Dawson
16 Bertha Wilson: "Silences" in a Woman's Life Story / Mary Jane Mossman
Index
